Membrane of shell-less egg stuck in hen

[babyjo1]

We have a beautiful wheaten Americana roughly 7 years old, with the membrane of a shell-less egg stuck inside of her. We found her this evening around 6 sitting in the nesting box. When I first brought her in I used some preparation H on my finger and went "hunting" for an egg. I didn't feel anything at that point. She had part of the membrane passed about 30 minutes later, so I tried to gently pull more of it out but it broke off. I cannot feel it inside of her now. I might have about half of it out.

She is clearly in distress, wings drooping down, eyes closed, and had what looks like a string of droll hanging from her beak. She was obviously eating this morning as I can feel feed in her crop. Should we try putting her in warm water? Or would that be too stressful for her at this point? Is it possible she will continue to pass it on her on since there isn't a shell? I've been giving her Rescue Remedy as well as a dose of Arnica.

Unfortonately my Avian vet was closed by the time we found her.

Thank you very much!!

 

[CMV]

Was she able to pass the rest of the membrane?

You may want to give her a chicken douche to try to prevent any infections. I believe the recipe is 1 tbsp vinegar to a quart of water in a needle-less syringe shot into the vent to flush it out. This douche should help to wash out any residue.

 

[K-12 Chickens]

I have two hens that have had almost the same exact thing. A cracked soft shell was hanging partly out of the vent. I gingerly pulled it out so as to not injure the hen's tissue. I put both in warm water and I think that helped open up their insides. A few minutes later the "scrambled" yolk and white was passed along with some poo. I think warm water seems to calm them, so it shouldn't stress your hen. Make sure she is eating and drinking properly. If she loses appetite or thirst, offer scrambled eggs or something similar to increase her appetite and thirst. The problem didn't happen at the same time with both my hens, but it did happen when both were starting to molt.

Good luck with your hen!

 

[DaisyEggs]

I just logged on today...hope your hen is OK. I also have an old gal that does the same thing. The last time, she also was in the nest box, head down and eyed closed. She was breathing hard. I got Dawn and warm water, wrapped her in a towel so she couldn't try and get away. I held her backwards under my armpit and gave her a soothing warm bath. The yolk and egg came right out and so did the very soft shell. I'm a bit concerned, because she has been doing this a lot. There may be a day when I'm not home to help her. Try it and see if it works for you. You can also use veg oil, a latex glove and try to swirl it out with your finger after a warm bath to losen things up. Oil her up good. I also had to do this with a different hen. Good luck.